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Our 3StepDivorceTM Online Divorce for New Jersey is offered with a peace-of-mind 100% guarantee.
We offer a 100% guarantee that the documents provided will be accepted by the New Jersey courts to finalize your divorce.
In the event that the documents provided are not accepted by the New Jersey court due to the fault of 3StepDivorceTM, you will be provided a 100% refund (with no handling fee).
Our support staff will always give each individual customer personal attention should they have difficulty. We have both e-mail and phone support. This being said, prior to issuing a refund, we reserve the right to meet any courts requests regarding changes to the documents.
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New Jersey Residency Requirements
Jurisdiction in actions for divorce, either absolute or from bed and board, may be acquired when process is served upon the defendant as prescribed by the rules of the Supreme Court, and 1. When, at the time the cause of action arose, either party was a bona fide resident of this state, and has continued so to be down to the time of the commencement of the action; except that no action for absolute divorce shall be commenced for any cause other than adultery, unless one of the parties has been for the 1 year next preceding the commencement of the action a bona fide resident of this state; or 2. When, since the cause of action arose, either party has become, and for at least 1 year next preceding the commencement of the action has continued to be, a bona fide resident of this state. The divorce is typically filed with in county in which the filing spouse lives. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-8, 34.10)
New Jersey Divorce Grounds:
1. Irreconcilable Differences (marital breakdown for at least 6 consecutive months). 2. Separation, provided that the husband and wife have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; provided, further that after the 18-month period there shall be a presumption that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-2
New Jersey Property and Debt Division
In making an equitable distribution of property, the court shall consider, but not be limited to, the following factors: 1. The duration of the marriage; 2. The age and physical and emotional health of the parties; 3. The income or property brought to the marriage by each party; 4. The standard of living established during the marriage; 5. Any written agreement made by the parties before or during the marriage concerning an arrangement of property distribution; 6. The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property becomes effective; 7. The income and earning capacity of each party, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children, and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage; 8. The contribution by each party to the education, training or earning power of the other; 9. The contribution of each party to the acquisition, dissipation, preservation, depreciation or appreciation in the amount or value of the marital property, as well as the contribution of a party as a homemaker; 10. The tax consequences of the proposed distribution to each party; 11. The present value of the property; 12. The need of a parent who has physical custody of a child to own or occupy the marital residence and to use or own the household effects; 13. The debts and liabilities of the parties; 14. The need for creation, now or in the future, of a trust fund to secure reasonably foreseeable medical or educational costs for a spouse or children; 15. The extent to which a party deferred achieving their career goals; and 16. Any other factors which the court may deem relevant. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-23)
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New Jersey Spousal Support, Maintenance, or Alimony:
The court shall consider when making a support award, but not be limited to, the following factors: (A) The actual need and ability of the parties to pay; (B) The duration of the marriage; (C) The age, physical and emotional health of the parties; (D) The standard of living established in the marriage and the likelihood that each party can maintain a reasonably comparable standard of living; (E) The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties; (F) The length of absence from the job market of the party seeking maintenance; (G) The parental responsibilities for the children; (H) The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment, the availability of the training and employment, and the opportunity for future acquisitions of capital assets and income; (I) The history of the financial or non-financial contributions to the marriage by each party including contributions to the care and education of the children and interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities; (J) The equitable distribution of property ordered and any payouts on equitable distribution, directly or indirectly, out of current income, to the extent this consideration is reasonable, just and fair; (K) The income available to either party through investment of any assets held by that party; (L) The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a non-taxable payment; and (M) Any other factors which the court may deem relevant. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-23)
New Jersey Custody and Visitation:
A child custody determination made by a court of this state that had jurisdiction under this act binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of this state or notified in accordance with section 8 of this act or who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court, and who have been given an opportunity to be heard. As to those persons, the determination is conclusive as to all decided issues of law and fact except to the extent the determination is modified. In determining the appropriate sole or joint custody arrangement the court will consider the following factors, but not limited to: 1. the physical, emotional, religious and everyday needs of the children 2. the wishes of the child is deemed to be of sufficient age and maturity. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-23)
New Jersey Child Support:
In determining the amount to be paid by a parent for support of the child and the period during which the duty of support is owed, the court in those cases not governed by court rule shall consider, but not be limited to, the following factors: (1) Needs of the child; (2) Standard of living and economic circumstances of each parent; (3) All sources of income and assets of each parent; (4) Earning ability of each parent; (5) Need and capacity of the child for education, including higher education; (6) Age and health of the child and each parent; (7) Income, assets and earning ability of the child; (8) Responsibility of the parents for the court-ordered support of others; (9) Reasonable debts and liabilities of each child and parent; and (10) Any other factors the court may deem relevant. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-23)
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How Do I Know if I Should File in New Jersey?
One would typically file for divorce in the state in which he or she or his or her spouse resides. If you have recently moved to a new state and wish to file in that new state, you may have to establish residency prior to filing.
If you are in the military and are stationed on a base outside your residency state, you typically are able to file in that state or in your residency state. If you are in the military and are stationed overseas, you would typically file in your home residency state. Can I Use 3StepDivorceTM if I Have Children?
Yes. The system and your documents will address all the issues regarding your children such as, but not limited to; custody arrangements, visitation and time-sharing, child support, and medical coverage.
How Much Are the New Jersey Filing and/or Court Fees?
The filing and/or court fees are not included in our fee and typically range from $50.00 to $350.00 in total depending on your location of filing and whether or not you have children. The 3StepDivorce service will typically help you yield the lowest filing fee for you because both you and your spouse are in agreement.
How Long Will the Process Take in New Jersey?
The process takes an average of less than 1 hour to answer the required questions and generate the documents. Once you file your documents with the court according the filing procedures, the length of time will vary depending on the number of cases in front of yours. Each court has only one or just a few Judges, Masters, or Referees to review all the pending cases.
Should I File or Should My Spouse File?
As a rule of thumb, for uncontested divorces, the spouse who really wants the divorce to be finalized typically does the filing.
Where and How Do I File My Documents?
The documents are filed at your local county courthouse in the family law or domestic relations division or department. Inside your account you will receive step-by-step filing procedures.
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Can I Mail or Fax My Documents to the Clerk?
Many courts do permit you to mail and/or fax the documents. This will vary from county to county and state to state, so it will be best to check with the clerk at the courthouse when you are ready to file.
Do I Have to Go to Court in New Jersey?
Depending on your state and your situation, you may or may not have to attend a short hearing. Most of the time when a hearing is required, it only lasts 10-15 minutes and only the filing spouse must attend. The hearing is where you will be granted your divorce and the judge will sign the final judgment or decree.
Do I Have to Also Hire a Lawyer?
3StepDivorce is designed for you to do your own uncontested divorce without hiring a lawyer. You will be acting as your own lawyer and filing for your own divorce. Should you need or desire legal advice or should your divorce become contested, we do suggest you hire the services of a lawyer.
Will My Name Also Be Changed?
The wife has the option to change her name back to her former or maiden name through the 3StepDivorce solution.
When is the Divorce Actually Finalized in New Jersey?
The divorce is typically finalized when the Judge signs the final judgment or decree. We give a window of 30-90 days from the filing date, but this will vary due to case load at the courthouse and any mandatory waiting periods.
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New Jersey Forms: Our question and answer technology will allow you to easily complete your New Jersey divorce forms for an uncontested divorce. Our goal is to give you full control and make "doing your own divorce", fast, easy, and affordable.
New Jersey Divorce Forms List
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A total of 150 people have started their divorce through 3StepDivorceTM in the last 24 hours and 1466 in the last 10 days. The streamlined and user-friendly process, instant document delivery, and unlimited free support makes us the go-to solution to do your own divorce. Our simple and inexpensive process provides you with all your completed divorce papers in as little as 20 minutes. Instantly access your completed divorce forms after a short online interview. It is that easy, no lengthy completion or delivery times.
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This easy to use online divorce is a "do it yourself (without a lawyer)"
solution for any uncontested divorce (with or without children) that
will be filed in the state of New Jersey. An uncontested divorce is one
in which you and your spouse are in agreement and eliminates the stress
and expense of settling your divorce in the
New Jersey courts
.
With 3StepDivorce TM you will complete and print your New Jersey divorce forms (including a marital settlement agreement) instantly. Then, follow our step-by-step filing procedures to file your New Jersey divorce papers in a timely, professional, and hassle-free fashion. The online software is designed to give you full control of your divorce and also avoids the use of third party data entry, thus helping protect your personal information and privacy. If you're not ready to file divorce paperwork in NJ, learn more about getting your Separation Agreement or learn more about the basics of divorce in New Jersey and how to do your own divorce in New Jersey . Also, If you have any questions try visiting our New Jersey Divorce Online Help Center . |
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Filing for divorce can seem overwhelming. Like starting almost any other legal proceeding, it takes finding the right forms, filling out the forms properly, and understanding the court’s requirements for the next steps you’ll need to take.
Traditionally, most people have hired a lawyer to take care of all the legal matters in their divorce. But more and more couples are turning to a much cheaper option that’s still easier than figuring out everything on their own: filing for divorce online.
If you want to know more, read on for answers to some of the most common questions about online divorce in New Jersey.
New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ takes care of the divorce paperwork for you. Once you sign up for the service, you’ll answer some questions about your situation. Based on your responses to the questionnaire, New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ will fill out the forms the state requires to start the divorce process, along with instructions for adding any further information that’s needed. You’ll be able to print out the forms yourself immediately or, if you prefer, get hard copies by mail.
New Jersey has two basic requirements to file for divorce in the state: a residency requirement, and a legally recognized reason (“grounds”) for ending your marriage.
To get a divorce in New Jersey, one or both of the spouses must have been a resident for at least one year immediately before filing. The only exception is if adultery is the reason for the end of the marriage–then there’s no length of residency minimum. (N.J. Stat. § 2A:34-10 (2022).)
New Jersey allows both “no-fault” and “fault-based” divorces. A no-fault divorce is one in which the court doesn’t require either spouse to prove that the other committed a bad act that caused the marriage to end. In a fault-based divorce, one or both of the spouses must show that the other’s actions caused the marriage to fail.
Most divorcing couples in New Jersey choose to file a no-fault divorce: No-fault divorces reach resolution much faster than fault-based because the spouses don’t have to argue about or prove who was responsible for the divorce. There are two no-fault grounds for divorce in New Jersey:
(N.J. Stat. § 2A:34-2 (2022).)
New Jersey also has fault-based grounds for divorce, such as adultery, desertion, and extreme cruelty. (N.J. Stat. § 2A:34-2 (2022).) The New Jersey fault-based grounds are used less frequently than the no-fault grounds, and require that the filing spouse prove the grounds for the divorce. Most people who use these grounds for divorce decide to hire a lawyer.
New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ currently provides services only for couples who are getting divorced based on irreconcilable differences.
Many New Jersey residents are finding that they can file for divorce and get through the process without the expense of hiring a lawyer if they’re filing for an “uncontested divorce” in the state. That means that they’ve agreed with each other about all of the legal issues in their divorce, including:
If you still have disagreements with your spouse about these or any other issues involved in ending your marriage, you’ll have to file for a traditional, contested divorce. Because that will involve legal battles and presenting evidence and arguments at court hearings, it would be risky to pursue a contested divorce without a lawyer to navigate the process for you—especially if your spouse has an attorney.
You may use New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ as long as you have an uncontested divorce and meet the state’s residency requirement. You’ll need to have a written marital settlement agreement, signed by both you and your spouse, that covers all of the issues in your divorce. New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ will guide you through the process of creating this agreement, based on your answers to the questionnaire.
New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ can also help if you aren’t ready to file for divorce, but you want a separation agreement with your spouse. For instance, you might want to work out arrangements for support, custody of your children, who has to move out of the family home, and how to take care of the bills while you’re separated but still legally married.
Just because you haven’t been able to agree with your spouse about everything in your divorce, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go through an expensive and time-consuming contested divorce. You could try divorce mediation. If you’re able to resolve your disagreements with the mediator’s help, you can then use New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ to prepare the written settlement agreement, along with the other divorce paperwork.
Generally, you can use New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ even when you have minor children with your spouse, as long as you agree on all of the issues related to your kids, including legal and physical custody, a parenting (visitation) schedule, child support, health and dental insurance, and tax deductions. New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ will allow you to address these issues in your settlement agreement. We provide a standard parenting schedule, but you’ll have an option of customizing the schedule to meet your individual needs.
However, you won’t be able to address custody-related issues with New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ if the affected child or children don’t meet the “home state” requirement. Usually, that means the child must have lived in New Jersey with a parent (or a parent figure) during the entire six-month period before you file for divorce (or since birth if the child is younger than six months old). (N.J. Stat. § 2A:34-65 (2022).) If you don’t meet the six-month rule, you should speak with an attorney to find out whether you might qualify for one of the complicated exceptions to this rule.
In New Jersey, both parents have an obligation to support their children. And like all states, New Jersey has child support guidelines for calculating how much support the parents should pay, based largely on their incomes and custody arrangements.
3StepDivorce™ provides the New Jersey Child Support Guideline Worksheets, so you can easily calculate the state's guideline level of support. You and your spouse may agree to an amount of child support that differs from the guideline amount, but the judge will need to review and approve your agreement. New Jersey law requires that any time the amount of child support deviates from the guideline, the judge must find that applying the guideline would be “unjust or inappropriate” under the circumstances.
In your settlement agreement, you and your spouse may include child support provisions that aren’t legally required, such as a parent’s contributions to private school tuition or the cost of a child’s college education. You may also agree on some specific questions like which parent will claim the children as dependents on tax returns.
After your divorce in New Jersey is final, you (or your spouse) may request a change in the amount of child support, but you’ll need to show that your circumstances have changed significantly. The judge will review your request based on the same legal requirements for an original child support order.
If you want to save the time and expense of a court battle over a request to modify child support, you and your spouse may agree to a modification on your own. As a general rule, you’ll need to submit your agreement to a judge or child support agency.
The New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts has prepared an instruction pamphlet on how to modify a child support order. The instruction pamphlet includes fillable forms.
When you fill out your questionnaire for New Jersey 3StepDivorce™, you’ll answer a series of questions about your separate and marital property and debts, including how you’ll divide your marital property and allocate responsibility for payment of the marital debts.
If you own a home with your spouse, your agreement can spell out what will happen to it when you get divorced. Here again, the questionnaire will include a few questions about the property and how you’ve chosen to deal with it, such as:
In your New Jersey 3StepDivorce™, you may also agree on whether and how you’ll divide any retirement accounts that you and your spouse have, including 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and defined-benefit pensions.
If you started contributing to the retirement plan before you were married, you’ll start by figuring out how much of its current value is marital property and how much is your separate property. There are experts and firms that will do this for you (for a fee, of course). The service is usually known as a pension appraisal or valuation. You’ll almost always need this kind of expert help when you’re dealing with a defined-benefit pension.
Once you know the marital value of your work-related retirement accounts, the easiest way to handle the division of the assets is not to split them but to transfer other assets as an offset. Here’s how that works: Say you have a 401(k) through your job, and the marital portion of the account is worth $100,000. If you and your spouse agree to divide that portion down the middle, and you have other marital assets to divide (such as a regular savings account), your spouse could receive an extra $50,000 from those assets while you keep the entire 401(k). That way, you don’t have to hire another expert to prepare the kind of special order that’s needed to tell the 401(k) administrator how to divide the account.
The rules are different for IRAs. You may simply agree to have your spouse’s share transferred to another IRA account in that spouse’s name. (You’ll have to submit a special form to the bank, along with a copy of your divorce decree.)
You and your spouse may waive any right to alimony in your New Jersey divorce, or you may agree on the specifics of alimony payments: who will pay, how much, and for how long. Your agreement may also state whether a court could modify alimony at any time in the future, and it could cover related issues like health insurance and life insurance.
When you get your completed forms with New Jersey 3StepDivorce™, your next step will be to file your paperwork in the Family Division (also called the “Family Part”) of the Chancery Division in New Jersey superior court. You can’t file in just any superior court–you must file your divorce in the county in which the filing spouse (the “plaintiff”) lived at the time the cause of action arose. In other words, you must file in the county where the events that led to your getting a divorce occurred.
If the plaintiff spouse doesn’t live in New Jersey, then the divorce must be filed in the county where the non-filing spouse (the “defendant”) lived at the time the cause of action arose.
If neither spouse lived in New Jersey when the cause of action arose, the divorce must be filed in the county where the plaintiff lives when the divorce is filed. If the plaintiff doesn’t live in New Jersey, then the divorce must be filed in the county where the defendant lives when service of process is made. (N.J. Rules of Court R. 5:7-1 (2022).)
Figuring out which court to file in can be tricky. For further information and some good examples, see the Legal Services of New Jersey’s Divorce in New Jersey: A Self-Help Guide.
You can file your divorce in person or mail it in to the court clerk. No matter how you decide to file, it’s a good idea to call the clerk’s office to confirm that your filing method of choice will be accepted.
The filing fee for divorce in New Jersey is $300. If you have minor children, you might have to pay an additional $25 parenting education fee.
If you can’t afford to pay the filing fee, you can ask the court to waive the fee. Read through the court’s instructions for filing a Certification/Petition/Application in Support of a Fee Waiver (the instructions include a fillable form). If the court grants your request, you won’t have to pay any court fees or costs for your divorce.
Unlike some states, New Jersey doesn’t have a “waiting period” between when you file your divorce and when the court can start processing it. This means that your uncontested divorce will be complete as soon as the court has capacity on its schedule to finalize it–usually six to eight weeks if everything goes smoothly.
New Jersey 3StepDivorce™ provides unlimited, live, person-to-person support for customers. If you have any questions about how uncontested divorce works, call our New Jersey Divorce Online Help Center at (888) 665-6782 (toll free), Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm (Pacific Time).
Please keep in mind that we are not lawyers and so cannot give out legal advice. If you have questions about New Jersey law or need legal advice, we recommend that you contact an experienced family law attorney in your area.
3StepDivorce TM is a premium online divorce solution, a sister company of Divorce Source, the owner and operator of the Divorce Source Network, the web's largest and most visited online divorce resource since 1997.
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| A sister company of Divorce Source with over 750,000 forms processed since 1997. | Have your completed documents within 1 hour (with or without children) | Instantly print your documents (free delivery by US Priority Mail is also available). | Instantly make changes (gives you full control, the way it should be!) | All required divorce documents ready for signing. |
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| Step-by-Step filing procedures (who, what, where & when) | Court approval or your money back (100% guaranteed). | Unlimited toll free phone and email product support. | Online Divorce Organizer & 40+ Self-Help Divorce eBooks | Free Online Negotiation Tool (just in case you can't agree!) |
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